THE HOTEL: Road No 2, IT Park, Nanakram-guda Gachi Bowl, Hyderabad, India. The Ista is around 40 minutes from downtown, west of the city in an IT park that's still a building site, and spitting distance from the likes of Honeywell and Microsoft’s largest site outside Seattle. The hotel is at least finished, and to a high specification too. It has sister properties in Bangalore and Amritsar.
THE CHECK-IN: It was a delight to enter the hotel’s gates and see perfectly formed rockeries, lush greenery and water features reminiscent of resort properties in Bali. With a high staff to guest ratio, they rushed to help our group's arrival and luggage was identified and whisked away. Check-in was arranged in a jiffy, though I just had time to note the cavernous lobby with a soothing waterfall as a backdrop.
THE ROOM: I was in a Premium Room on the first floor which was contemporary in style, all sleek lines and minimal furniture.
A large bed with over-sized headboard dominated the room, plus there was a flatscreen TV, safe, walk-in closet, small bathroom with natural light and a vast walk-in shower, good toiletries, desk, user-friendly central touchpad controls, wifi access and tea and coffee-making facilities too.
THE BUSINESS: There's a dual-purpose conference and banqueting room (with pre-function area) that can accommodate up to 180, plus three small meeting rooms for up to ten people, and a small business centre with workstations.
THE FACILITIES: Two restaurants overlook tranquil gardens and include outside seating: the more informal Collage – with a private dining room – for everything from pizza to Indian delicacies, and Deori for Indian cuisine. There's also a lobby bar, endless outside decking for informal networking, extensive spa (offering yoga, Ayurvedic treatments, and meditation sessions etc), gym and an outside edge-to-edge pool.
THE VERDICT: The Ista puts all the other 1970s-style downtown hotels in the shade. This is a real European-style boutique hotel with Indian touches. The service was second to none, with constant smiles and a can-do attitude. The location will make more sense once the IT Park matures.
THE DETAILS: Room rates are from R7,500 (around £107). Pool facing rooms from R8,500 (£119); rooms with private balcony from R11,500 (£161); suites from R19,500 (£274). Tel +91 404 450 8888; www.istahotels.com. Part of Summit Hotels and Preferred Hotels. Gillian Upton
